Abstract

Analysis of the energy options open to mankind once cheap oil and gas resources have been exhausted is one of the main areas of research within the IIASA Energy Systems Program. This report summarizes the collaborative efforts of experts from British and German coal bodies in investigating potentials and problems of a medium-term revival of coal. The two countries were chosen as examples, because coal has played a central role in their industrial development and still possesses a major share in their supply balances. Based on the results of the two case studies, the ongoing work of the Coal Task Force will concentrate on questions of the future world coal market, on global environmental problems in the truly extensive use of coal, and in particular on the critical role of coal as an option for transition to a non-fossil global energy supply system. The findings, though based on a quite extended time horizon, point to a number of imminent questions with respect to research and development programs and national energy policy decisions.